I thought I saw a man brought to lifeHe was warm, he came around like he was dignifiedHe showed me what it was to cryWell you couldn't be that man I adoredYou don't seem to know, don't seem to careWhat your heart is forNo, I don't know him anymore

There's nothin' where we used to lieConversation has run dryThat's what's going onNothing's fine, I'm Torn

I'm all out of faithThis is how I feel, I'm cold and I am shamedLying naked on the floorIllusion never changedInto something realWide awake and I can see the perfect sky is tornYou're a little lateI'm already torn

So I guess the fortune teller's rightI should have seen just what was thereAnd not some holy lightBut you crawled beneath my veins and nowI don't care, I have no luckI don't miss it all that muchThere's just so many thingsThat I can't touch, I'm torn

I'm all out of faithThis is how I feel, I'm cold and I am shamedLying naked on the floorIllusion never changedInto something realI'm wide awake and I can see the perfect sky is tornYou're a little lateI'm already torn

Torn

There's nothing where he used to lieMy inspiration has run dryAnd that's what is goin' onNothin's right, I'm torn

I'm all out of faithThis is how I feelI'm cold and I am shamedLying naked on the floorIllusion never changedInto something realI'm wide awake and I can see the perfect sky is torn

I'm all out of faithThis is how I feel, I'm cold and I'm ashamedBound and broken on the floorYou're a little lateI'm already torn

In 1991, the songwriters Anne Preven and Scott Cutler wrote this song with Phil Thornalley, a producer who had worked on albums by The Cure, XTC, and Edwyn Collins. The song was first recorded by the Danish singer Lis Sørensen as "Braendt," with Danish lyrics written by Elisabeth Nielsen, appearing on Sørensen's 1993 album Under Stjernerne Et Sted.

Preven and Cutler formed a band called Ednaswap, and released the first English version of "Torn" on their 1995 debut album. Ednaswap got little attention, but the song was released in Denmark again in 1996, this time by the Norwegian singer Trine Rein and with the English lyrics.

"Torn" found its way to Natalie Imbruglia when the song's co-writer Phil Thornalley ended up working on her first album. Imbruglia is an Australian actress who was on the Aussie Soap Opera Neighbours from 1992-1994 (the same one Kylie Minogue starred in). Thornalley had her record the song, and it was released as her first single in 1997, launching her singing career. Imbruglia's debut album Left Of The Middle was released in 1998 with "Torn" as the first track. Thornalley co-wrote five other songs on the LP, and became one of the most popular producers in pop, with a client list including Ronan Keating, Bryan Adams, and Mel C. He and Preven teamed up again to write the #1 UK hit "Mama Do" for Pixie Lott.

This song has a very strange history on the Billboard charts because it was popular at a time when the Hot 100 methodology changed. The song was a huge hit in America throughout the summer of 1998, spending 11 weeks on top of Airplay/Radio Songs chart. The song was released only as a radio promo single, however, as Imbruglia's label withheld commercial availability in the hope that consumers would instead purchase her album. Songs that were not available for purchase as singles were ineligible for the Hot 100 until December 5, 1998, when Billboard revised the policy, allowing songs not available at retail to appear on the chart with airplay factored into the ranking. "Torn" was at the end of its run at this point, but still managed to make the chart at #42 that week before dropping off two weeks later.

This #42 chart position is very deceptive, since the song was far more popular. Most other hits of this era that were not issued as singles and thus ineligible for the Hot 100 have not placing on the chart at all - No Doubt's "Don't Speak" and The Wallflowers' "One Headlight" are examples.

Before it exploded on the UK charts, Imbruglia's version was shopped around to record labels in the US, and was turned down by every one of them. That is, until the song became a hit and everyone wanted a piece of the pie. Phil Thornalley recalled in a Songfacts interview : "Everybody in the US said, 'No thanks.' And then, of course, it became a massive hit here in the UK, and the very same A&R man who had said 'I don't want it' in New York was now trying to get his name put on the album to say that he was the executive responsible for it. And that's the music business. That's quite cynical but that's true. That's how it works."

So, what was so special about Imbruglia's rendition anyway? Thornalley told us: "Obviously, she was a pop star and had a background as an actor so she looked the part. She knew how to make a great video and the quality to her voice seemed to suit the song because the song is quite anxious, and yet her voice is quite sweet. So, I think that made it an attractive union of emotions."

The video was directed by Alison Maclean, a Canadian filmmaker who also did Imbruglia's clips for "Big Mistake" and "Wishing I Was There." Maclean was mostly known for her short films Kitchen Sink and Crush, and her time working on films informed her approach to the "Torn" video, which has a very casual feel, intercutting off-action scenes (crew members giving direction, Imbruglia stretching and getting ready) throughout. The result is part acting, part outtake, which created a very intimate feel as it was all shot on the same set.

In many cases, the best footage on any shoot comes when the actors think the cameras aren't rolling, since they're relaxed and genuine. Maclean got this footage by keeping the camera going during some of these down times. The acting parts were based on a scene from the film Last Tango in Paris.